Ahead of Installation, Pioneer Bishop for South Sudan’s Newest Catholic Diocese Seeks to Spearhead “bridges” for Unity

He expressed his keen interest on unity, saying, “We will put down that border and create bridges and roads so that we can really be united and also enjoy the beauty of our country together.”

The Italian-born member of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ), who was ordained a Priest in September 2004 and commissioned to South Sudan, where he ministered in the country’s Catholic Diocese of Malakal till his Episcopal appointment expressed his awareness of the challenge of division among the people of Bentiu and Ruweng administrative area.

These two communities are “so close, but sometimes also so divided,” Bishop Carlassare observed, adding that there is a need for the community members to journey together towards peace and reconciliation.

He acknowledged with appreciation the warm reception accorded to him at the airport. He said, “I'm moved to see the presence of so many people that came to the airport and I think we will celebrate these days together with joy.”

“It's a great honor for me to be welcomed by you as the first Bishop of Bentiu … we have to build up this special time that is given to us, a very crucial time; but it is in this delicate time that our people will do great things with the blessing and the grace from God,” he said. 

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The Vatican announced the transfer of Bishop Carlassare from Rumbek Diocese to the newly erected Diocese of Bentiu on July 3. He started his Episcopal Ministry in in Rumbek in March 2022.

After his installation scheduled for August 11, he will be the first Catholic Bishop of the Diocese carved out from the Catholic Diocese of Malakal and the eighth Episcopal See in South Sudan.

In his address to journalists on August 6, Bishop Carlassare said the people of God see him as a “gift from Rumbek community to Unity State.”

Also speaking during the August 6 event, the Secretary General of the Sudan/South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SSS-CBC), Fr. Peter Suleiman, said Catholic Bishops in the two-nation Conference support “the new Bishop and the creation of a new Diocese”, and described the development as “a gift from the Holy Father to South Sudan.”

On his part, the Deputy Head of the high-level committees for the installation of the Bishop of Bentiu, Hon. Mijok Mijak, described the erection of Bentiu Diocese as “a great honor to the people of Western Upper Nile and greater Unity and the people of South Sudan.”

Bishop Carlassare celebrated Holy Mass in Juba on August 7, the eve of his departure for Bentiu in South Sudan’s Unity State.

A delegation from Juba is set to join Bishop Carlassare in Bentiu on August 9 ahead of the installation Mass on August 11, which the Local Ordinary of Juba, Stephen Ameyu Martin Cardinal Mulla, is to preside over. 

Bentiu Diocese measures 37836 square kilometers and has a population of 1,131.886 of which 621,643 are Catholic faithful, representing 54.92 percent of the total population of the territory of the Diocese, according to 2024 statistics.

Bishop Carlassare is to start off with seven Parishes, seven Diocesan Priests, four Religious Priests, 10 Major Seminarians, and two Male religious institutes, according to the July 3 Holy See report.

Reacting to his new appointment, Bishop Carlassare reflected on how hard it is for him to leave the Diocese of Rumbek. He, however, expressed enthusiasm to serve the people of God in Bentiu, a “familiar” territory.

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The MCCJ member said he is happy to be reunited with the Nuer people in Bentiu, who he said were the first to welcome him in South Sudan.

“Nuer people are a resilient community that live in very harsh conditions due to conflict and marginalization,” he told ACI Africa in a July 5 interview.

Despite that, Bishop Carlassare, whose Episcopal Ordination was delayed for almost a year after he was shot in both legs added, the Nuer people “have great strength and have a positive attitude towards life. Generosity and solidarity are their assets. They never give up.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.